


Maria S. Rambeau

by The_fake_KamalaKhan



Series: Earth-976 [1]
Category: Captain Marvel (2019), DCU (Comics)
Genre: 1990s, Adoption, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Angst and Feels, Carol Danvers is a good girlfriend, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, F/F, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Kree!Carol Danvers, Loss of Parent(s), Parental Resentment, Sad Maria Rambeau, Some Mutilations, Surprise Ending, she has her moments though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 06:07:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30034218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_fake_KamalaKhan/pseuds/The_fake_KamalaKhan
Summary: Love is a form of energy. It is never really gone.When she was a little girl, Maria lost the one person she loved the most. Six years later, that love is reborn in a new form. Carol Danvers. But even with this new love, Maria aches for the one she lost. As she deals with her difficult feelings, Maria is faced with a life or death situation. Once she comes out the other side, Maria will discover a new path that she never could have expected.
Relationships: Carol Danvers/Maria Rambeau
Series: Earth-976 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2128740
Kudos: 3





	Maria S. Rambeau

**Author's Note:**

> When I first started this series, I decided that the universe itself will be the main character. I wanted explore as many characters from Marvel, DC, and beyond in many different stories. Unfortunately my first dive into this series proved to be a major headache.
> 
> For the few people reading Young Marvel, I'm sorry. I didn't know who to pick for Carol's team, and I went through half a dozen drafts to make that story work. But then, I realized why I grew sick of it.
> 
> It's too early to begin a big story like that. I should've written more one-shots and miniseries first with different characters. To see which characters and story arcs are the best fit for a big commitment like a multi-chapter story.
> 
> And so, I'm doing it now with this story. However, to honor Young Marvel (which was deleted when this story got published), I will be retaining a few of the creative decisions from that series. Carol will still be a Kree and retain the same personality and background for the most part.
> 
> However, she won't be the focus character here. Her girlfriend is. However, I will also combine Maria Rambeau with another character from DC Comics. This character's identity is part of the surprise ending. But I'll give you a hint.
> 
> She's a legacy character, and part of her real name makes up Maria's middle initial.
> 
> I wonder how many of you will guess correctly before the end. At least, the legacy if not the person herself. Comment in the end if you did and be honest.
> 
> But enough babbling. Enjoy the new start to this series.

**S** **t. Roch, Louisiana**

**1987**

A little girl named Maria Rambeau sat on a couch, wide awake in the middle of the night. There was a blanket over her shoulders. She was in an apartment. But she wasn't at home.

Maria's blank eyes were fixed on the TV. It was shut off, but Maria can only will herself to look forward. She was in too much shock. She couldn't cry. She couldn't bring herself to do anything but wait until the cold hand of reality came down on her.

However, she could still hear the muffled voices of adults at the doorway.

There were two men and a woman.

The woman yelled at one of the men, "This is bullshit! How could they do this, Henri?!"

"There was no evidence he did it, Shiera," Henri calmly explained.

"No evidence? What about the witnesses? One of them is sitting on my couch right now!"

"It's all circumstantial. Hearsay. And besides, no jury wants to convict a cop. Not in this city."

Shiera growled. "That little girl was counting on you, Henri. Andrew was counting you! Why didn't you say anything?!"

Henri stuttered, "I... I could lose my job. I..."

Before Shiera could yell at him again, the other man spoke up, disappointment lacing his voice. "I'll go check on Maria."

Maria waited for the man to make his way over to her. He was a tall and fairly muscular black man. Handsome too if Maria cared for such things.

The man, Carter Rambeau, looked down at Maria with pity in his eyes. "You need anything?"

Maria's mind was in a haze. She blankly replied, "Dad was gonna take me to the fair today."

Carter took a deep breath and sat next to the girl. He was silent as he let Maria continued, "He was always so busy with work. I begged him all week to go. And now... now..."

Tears streamed down Maria's face. She sobbed as the weight of her emotions began crashing down. Carter placed a comforting hand on the girl's back as she cried.

"There, there. It's alright...", Carter said soothingly.

* * *

**Fawcett City, Maine**

**1993**

It was hard to believe that it had only been six years. To Maria, it felt like an entire lifetime has passed.

New parents. New city. New last name even.

And she was certainly different from that little girl who watched her father die all those years ago. But Maria couldn't figure out yet if that was a good thing or not.

It was her father's birthday today, and Maria was spending it in her room at her parents' apartment.

Her adoptive parents, Carter and Shiera, bought a bouquet of lilies for her earlier today. They were supposed to represent the innocence of the soul of the departed. Maria didn't quite know what that meant, but she trusted their judgement on such things.

Maria placed the bouquet on the little shrine she had erected to her late father next to a picture of him after he graduated from the academy. He would've been 44 today. He gave his heart and soul to St. Roch, and he was rewarded with three bullets on his chest.

Every year, Maria would sit down and take a moment of silence for her old man. She stared at his photo, and she tried to focus on all the good times they had together. But every time she tried, Maria couldn't help but remember the night she lost him. The shots that rang on repeat in her head. The blood. The feeling of helplessness.

The despair can be overwhelming.

Thankfully, Maria's dark thoughts were interrupted by the creaking of her door opening. She turned to see her girlfriend, Carol Danvers, looking at her with sympathy and a touch of pity.

With as much tact as she could muster, Carol asked, "You need more time?"

Maria took a deep breath and stood up. "No... I was finished anyway."

Carol nodded. "I'll be at the car."

"Alright," Maria said as Carol walked away. Before she followed her, Maria glanced back at her father's photo and caressed his face fondly with her thumb. With a sad smile, Maria said, "Happy birthday, Dad."

* * *

At the most romantic venue one could get for a date, the local buffet, Carol and Maria sat on a table across from one another. Maria barely had anything. She didn't have much of an appetite today, but Carol was a different story. Carol had mountains of assorted meats and sides on three plates, and she scarfed them down like she hadn't eaten in days.

Carol was always sloppy with her food, but Maria found it adorable in a dorky sort of way. Maria wanted to follow up a question from last night, but she waited until her girlfriend was done with her food.

After Carol leaned back and burped, Maria suppressed a chuckle and spoke up, "So... you're an alien?"

Carol looked her girlfriend in the eye and said, "Yeah."

"And your mom and brother are... also aliens?", Maria asked almost not believing what just came out of her mouth.

"That's generally how species work, yes," Carol remarked dryly.

Maria chuckled. "Right... we've known each other for almost six years. Why didn't you tell me until now?"

Carol shuffled in her seat. "Mother made me. She wanted a 'normal life' for me and my brother when we left the Kree Empire. She even made me change my name."

"Your name?"

Carol nodded. "My real name is Car-Ell. It means 'champion' in my language."

"Cool," Maria then asked, "So why now?"

"After I got to know you...", Carol said fumbling through her words, "I wanted to tell you. I felt so alone after coming to this planet, but then I met you. After we... got together, it felt... unfair that you don't know. So I asked my mom, and she gave me her blessing. You know the rest."

Maria smiled. "Wow... well, thank you for telling me. And for trusting me."

Carol smiled back as she reached to hold her girlfriend's hand. "Thank you for understanding."

"Don't mention it," Maria then said with an enthusiastic smile, "So... your mom is Captain Marvel."

Carol groaned. "That is correct."

"Wow... six years, and one of my personal heroes was living right next door to me the entire time," Maria gushed. She then realized, "Wait... does that mean you and Joel..."

"My brother was born before mother underwent the military experiment that gave her powers," Carol clarified, "But yes, I did inherit my mother's powers."

"That is so... amazing! I knew that you were a badass before, but now that I know that you can fly... I, I didn't think you could be more awesome!", Carol blushed when she said that, "Does this mean that you're a superhero too? Like your mom?"

Carol immediately grimaced after that. She stated plainly, "No."

"Oh...", Maria muttered not expecting how harsh Carol responded, "I thought that with your powers, you'd..."

"Follow in my mother's footsteps?", Carol scoffed, "Trust me, that's the last thing I'd ever want."

Maria could feel the raw tension and resentment emanating from her girlfriend. She held Carol's hand as she spoke softly, "You wanna talk about it? You can trust me, remember."

Carol sighed and took a moment to herself to gather her thoughts.

Maria asked, "Why do you hate your mom so much? She was always so nice to me and my parents."

"I don't hate my mom," Carol finally said, "I just don't approve of her choices."

"You don't like that she's a superhero?"

Carol scoffed again. "Superhero... what a gaudy title for a glorified celebrity."

"I don't know about that. They do save the world on a daily basis," Maria pointed out.

"Perhaps, but back home, mother was more than just some costumed lifeguard. She was a soldier. A true hero."

Maria raised her brow. "And that's different from her current job how?"

Carol sighed. "She served the empire then. Our empire. As a military commander, she protected our people and served our nation's interests. She was selfless then. Now she saves people for the cameras and the adoration of just one planet."

"I'm sure there's more to her than that."

"Maybe," Carol then put on a more somber face, "I was a soldier too, you know. Back then. I had a career and everything."

"Really? But you would've been, like, 10."

"I started a bit later than usual, I admit," Carol said not noticing the perplexed look on her girlfriend's face, "When I said that following my mother's footsteps was the last thing I wanted to do, I wasn't being completely accurate. The truth is, I used to look up to my mother. She was everything that every Kree child aspired to be. The perfect soldier. I wanted to be just like her. But then something changed. One day, she didn't want to serve our country anymore. She grew to hate everything we used to stand for. She wanted to leave... and she took me and my brother with her. She forced me to end my career before it could really begin. And now I'm stuck in some backwater planet, light-years away from a home I could never see again..."

Maria knew that this hurt Carol. She couldn't truly understand why, but Maria empathized with her girlfriend nonetheless. She asked, "Then why did you leave at all?"

"I had no other choice," Carol said bitterly, "In my culture, children are to obey their parents in all things. My mother is the head of our family. What she says goes. She didn't care about my feelings on the matter. She didn't care that her selfish choice costed me my future."

"I'm sure that isn't true," Maria replied, "I know your mom cares about you a lot. I'm sure she had a good reason."

"Maybe, but I don't care. She's a traitor to the empire. And... so am I," Carol let out a sigh that was heavy with regret.

The two were silent for a bit. Really, what more was there to say? Maria didn't know how to help her girlfriend through these difficult feelings. She could barely manage her own.

Carol then finally spoke, "I suppose my exile isn't a complete waste. If I never left, I wouldn't have met you. And... I love you, Maria."

Maria smiled and gave Carol's hand a squeeze. "I love you too."

* * *

After lunch was done, the two girls began walking to catch a movie. _Leprechaun._ The monster looked stupid. She and Carol could use a good laugh.

"How come I never see you in any of the JSA reunions?", Maria asked as they waited on the crosswalk light, "Your mom is on the team."

"I don't care about my mother's superhero career, remember?"

"I know, but they're fun parties. Just saying."

Carol hummed. "Why do you get to go to those reunions? Aren't those exclusive?"

"My adoptive parents are Hawkman and Hawkgirl."

"Who?"

Maria sighed. "Nevermind."

The light finally turned white. But before Maria and the rest could cross...

CRASH!

A car was thrown onto another. The force of the crash spooked Maria, which unfortunately made her stumble and fall.

She hit her head, and everything went black.

* * *

"Maria... Maria!"

"Ugh...", Maria groaned as she finally opened her eyes. She found herself behind a rather sick looking Camaro and in Carol's arms. That second part caught her off-guard at first. She didn't realize how strong and firm Carol's arms were until now. And she is so warm. "Um..."

Carol ignored Maria's blushing as she asked, "Are you alright?"

"I guess...", Maria winced, "My head's killing me. What happened?"

Carol traced her finger over the nasty bruise on the back of her girlfriend's head. "You hit your head, but I think you'll be okay. Let's get out of here."

"I hit my... what?", Maria then cringed, "And what's with all that noise?"

Maria willed herself to get out of Carol's embrace. She was on her knees, but then she slowly got up, with Carol's help, to take a peek over the car. Maria now knew where those loud sounds were coming from, but there was a new problem.

There was a giant Crocodile Man fighting off a SWAT squad. The SWAT tried gunning the monster down, but unfortunately, Crocodile Man had bulletproof skin (scales?). Using his super strength (because of course he had that), Crocodile Man was swatting away SWAT officers with his fists and tail like they were flies.

One officer tapped into his communicator. "We have a rogue meta here! We can't contain! I repeat, we can't contain! We need more backup! We need... agh!"

Unfortunately, the officer was interrupted when Crocodile Man used his powerful jaws to bite his head off and swallow it whole.

Maria grew sick to her stomach at the sight of that gory mess.

Carol tugged at her girlfriend's sleeve. "Come on. Let's go."

"Wait," Maria objected, "You can stop him."

"What? No," Carol firmly replied.

"Why not? You have your mom's powers. You said so yourself. This should be easy for you."

"I said no," Carol said growing more agitated.

"Come on! People are dying out there! You got to help!"

"Dealing with petty criminals is mother's job. Not mine. I'm sure she'll handle it."

"Your mom is with my parents in Egypt on a JSA mission. There is literally no one else!"

"Well, mother's career is none of my business. It's not my fault she decided to neglect her city today."

"Seriously?!", Maria snapped, "You're willing let that thing go on a killing spree, because you wanna spite your mom?"

"It's none of my business, that's why!", Carol then turned around, "Come on. Let's go."

Maria glared daggers at Carol's back. But then a strange noise grabbed her attention.

"Daddy! Daddy! Come on! Wake up!"

Those familiar words drew Maria's eyes over to an alleyway. There, she saw a little girl kneeling down and crying next to an unresponsive man, presumably her father. The girl was bawling her eyes out as she desperately tried to shake her father awake. She couldn't be much older than Maria was when she lost her father...

_"Dad! Please... please! Wake up!"_

Tears threatened to stream down Maria's face. SWAT was still struggling to take down Crocodile Man. The reptilian monster was using a car now as makeshift bat, spraying shrapnel with every crashing hit. And then there was all that gunfire from SWAT. A stray bullet could...

Maria shook her head and gritted her teeth. She knows what she must do. She knows it's stupid and dangerous, but she wasn't about to let another kid lose their dad. Not when she could do something about it.

Carol noticed Maria wasn't following her. She turned around and asked, "Maria? What are you..."

Maria began darting towards the girl as fast as she could. She could hear Carol's pleas from behind, but she didn't care. Maria kept her head down and made her way to the alleyway. At least her adrenaline rush was numbing the pain on her head.

When she got there, Maria knelt down next to the child and asked, "What happened?"

The overwhelmed girl sniffled. She managed to sob an answer. "I, uh, we were trying to get away. But this... this thing flew over and crushed my Daddy's leg!", she pointed to what looked to be a big piece of a car bumper on top of the man's leg, "He was bleeding... he passed out... help him... please..."

Maria took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She placed her fingers underneath the metal debris. Mustering as much strength as she could, she lifted the debris up. One inch, then two. Maria was sure she pulled something in her efforts to lift this heavy thing up, but she did finally free the man's leg.

"Hurry! Pull him out!", Maria told the child.

The girl was still a mess, but she did as she was told. She pulled on her father's arm, tugging it until his leg was no longer under the debris. Once he was clear, Maria let the debris drop. She took a quick moment to catch her breath, and then she looked down at the injured man.

He had a nasty gash on his pinned leg, and it was squirting out precious blood. The poor girl was hyperventilating, but Maria needed to stay calm. She needed to buy him more time.

Remembering the survival lessons that Carter taught her, Maria ripped one of her sleeves and used it as an improvised bandage. She tied the sleeve into a tight knot around the wound to stop the bleeding.

"We've done what we can for him," Maria said as she lifted the man up, "Come... on! Let's get inside that store! It's safer there!"

"Okay...", the little girl mumbled worriedly as she trailed behind Maria.

Before Maria and the kid could use the alley side entrance, however, a massive, scaly hand wrapped around Maria's torso. As she was picked up, Maria was forced to drop the man as Crocodile Man stepped out of the alleyway with his hostage in tow.

Taking cover behind a totaled truck, Crocodile Man shouted to the cops, "I got a hostage! Let me go, or I'll bite the kid's head off! I'm not kidding! I'll do it!"

The brave front Maria put up quickly broke down. Suddenly, there were SWAT officers in front of her with their guns up, and behind her was a viscous lizard man with razor sharp teeth.

She couldn't see the faces of the gunmen in front of her. Their goggles and balaclavas obscured their faces, leaving only the image of white officers with guns. Would they really let a dangerous meta criminal go for a _black_ girl's sake? Their fingers are still on the trigger...

And that's not even mentioning the murderous Crocodile Man taking her hostage. Her odds weren't looking too good.

A chill ran down Maria's spine. "Is... is this it?", she thought.

SHHK!

"UUAAGGH!", Crocodile Man screamed as the arm holding Maria was suddenly and violent hacked off. The monster man stumbled back, clutching his stump, which was cauterized by a photon blade.

Without Crocodile Man holding her, Maria was dropped. But before she could hit the ground, she was caught within a pair of familiar arms. Still processing the shock, Maria looked up to see Carol, who hid the lower half of her face with a scarf.

"I got you."

Carol's voice was muffled behind the scarf, but Maria could understand her well enough. Although she is surrounded by dangerous men, Maria felt nothing but safe. She had Carol's protection.

Her Carol. And that was more than enough.

Maria gave Carol a small smile. "Thank you."

Carol blushed as she set her girlfriend down as gently as she could manage.

Although he was inflicted with an agonizing pain, Crocodile Man's rage powered through as he glared at his mutilator and yelled, "You bitch! That was my good arm! I'm gonna rip you in two!"

Carol's smile quickly morphed into a scowl as she glared at the man who dared to touch her beloved. Her entire body started to glow with golden light. Her clenched fists lit up with photonic energy, and her eyes filled cosmic fire as Carol focused on the person she is currently hating the most.

Suddenly, all of Crocodile Man's bravado evaporated as he pissed himself in fear. Maria was also kinda afraid of Carol at the moment, but also weirdly turned on.

Crocodile Man stuttered, "C-Captain Marvel? Is that... you?"

Carol almost popped a vein upon hearing that. "Just for that, I'm making this hurt."

"Wha..."

Carol fired a full power photon blast... at Crocodile Man's crotch.

For what it's worth, Crocodile Man couldn't feel anything at first as the photon blast sent him flying. But as he crashed about a half block away, all the pain came down all at once as smoke rose where his lizard genitals used to be.

Crocodile Man let out a high pitched whimper, and then he passed out.

Once the main threat was down, the remaining SWAT officers moved in to secure him. Carol and Maria stepped aside to the alleyway where the girl and her father still were.

"Can we go now?", Carol asked.

"Not yet," Maria pointed to the girl and her injured father, "Take him to the hospital. Bring the girl along too."

"What about you?"

"My apartment is not too far from here. I'll meet you there when you're done. I don't think the theater is still open anyway. Not after this."

"You're going to walk alone?", Carol spoke feeling a protective urge, "No. I'll fly you there myself."

"I'll be fine. I know the way back," Maria spoke with a reassuring tone, "These two need you more."

"Maria..."

"Carol," Maria spoke softly but firmly, "Please... for me."

Carol sighed. She could never say no to this girl. "Alright," Carol pulled down her scarf and placed a quick kiss on her girlfriend's lips, "Be safe. Okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

Later, Maria sat alone in her room with an ice pack on her bruise. Her parents were not yet home still, so she time alone with her thoughts. She was processing the dramatic whirlwind of a day she had. Her near death experience. The little girl. Her father...

Maria's scattered thoughts were interrupted by the opening of her door. She turned to see Carol, who seemed to look at her with disapproving eyes.

Maria scoffed as she placed her ice pack on her nightstand. "I'm not sorry for what I did."

"Actually," Carol interrupted, " _I'm_ here to apologize."

Maria's eyes widened in surprise. Perhaps there is more of Carol to learn after all.

Carol continued. "I was stupid... and selfish. I let my resentment towards my mother stop me from doing what's right. I hope that I didn't... disappoint you too much."

"I'm not disappointed in you, Carol," Maria quickly amended, "Well, maybe I'm a little disappointed. But I'm just glad you did the right thing in the end."

Carol smiled. "You always had that effect on me, my love."

"'My love'?", Maria teased, "Oh, I never knew you were such a romantic! I guess this sour candy has a hidden sweet center after all."

Carol groaned but with a smile on her face. "That's the last time I ever try to be nice to someone."

"Don't worry. We can still pretend that you're a stone cold, alien badass."

Carol chuckled. "Thanks."

Maria shared in the laugh, but she quickly huddled back into her bed with a sullen face. Carol's smile disappeared just as quickly.

She walked towards Maria and asked, "You okay?"

"I was just thinking about that little girl and her father."

Carol laid down next to Maria. "He'll live. The doctors told me. His daughter is probably with him by now."

"Thank you," Maria murmured softly. She then let out a troubled breath. "I was about her age, you know. When my dad died. My real... the biological one. I was... I was standing over his body after he got shot. I tried to stop the bleeding," tears started to pour down Maria's face, "I covered the holes with my hands... I covered the last one with my head. But... but he was dead before he hit the ground... I couldn't hear his... his..."

Maria sobbed into her hands. Carol looked at her with nothing but sympathy. She draped her arm over Maria's shoulders and pulled her in for a silent embrace.

Maria sniffled. "I know... I know there was nothing I could've done. I thought... I thought helping that man could... help me make up for not saving my dad. But he's gone... and I still miss him! So much..."

"I know what you mean," Carol said softly.

Maria sniffed. "You do?"

"I had a twin brother. Stev...", Carol murmured, "I couldn't save him either."

"Does it ever get any easier?"

"No. At least, not for me," Carol then looked Maria straight in the eye, "But I know your father would've been proud of you today. What you did took courage. More courage than I or even my mom have. You have no powers, but you rushed in to save a life anyway. You're the bravest person I know, and wherever he is, I know your dad knows that too."

Maria managed a small smile. She sniffled again. "Thanks, Carol."

"Any time," Carol smiled back, "Do you need anything?"

"I... can I be alone right now?", Maria stuttered, "It's been a long day, and... I need to sleep."

"Of course," Carol said before placing a kiss on Maria's cheek, "I'll be in the living room if you need anything."

Maria gave her a silent nod, and then Carol was gone. With the door to her room now shut, Maria Rambeau laid down on her side. She didn't sleep yet.

She looked out into the night sky and all its stars. She briefly wondered which one of those stars created her wonderful, but flawed, girlfriend.

Maria then thought about the girl and her father. Despite everything, she was still glad that she helped save the girl's father. It felt good knowing that a kid didn't have to lose their father today like she did.

But then Maria felt an ache in her chest. A need.

After today, Maria felt like she should do more with her life. She wanted to... she needed to do more like her father once did. For this one moment, Maria found her calling.

She wanted to protect the innocent. To make sure her tragedy didn't happen to anyone else. But Maria is just one girl. One normal, teenage girl.

Carol told her that rushing to save that girl's father without having powers was brave, but in truth, Maria wished she did. It would make what she wanted to do a bit easier.

But then, as if to answer her silent need...

_"Maria Sojourner Rambeau..."_

Maria heard an authoritative, ethereal voice call out to her. She looked up to see a brilliant green light, and within it was an emerald ring with the symbol of a lantern stamped into its head. Maria could only drop her jaw as the ring continued.

_"You have the ability to endure great fear. Welcome to the Green Lantern Corps."_

**Author's Note:**

> That's right! Maria Rambeau will become Green Lantern! Not only that, she's also a version of Sojourner "Jo" Mullein. A round of applause for anyone who guessed correctly. I hope it wasn't too obvious.
> 
> First thing's first. Before Maria was adopted by the Hawks, her last name was Mullein. In the comics, Jo Mullein was a cop who reported a colleague for brutalizing a black civilian. It was implied that she got fired for that, at least indirectly, but that incident was what made her worthy of the Green Lantern Corps. But since Maria Sojourner Rambeau is a teenager here, I had to modify that backstory.
> 
> I wanted at least one of Maria's new parents to be black, and since Hawkman will be played by a black man in the Black Adam movie, it was the perfect fit. I've always liked the Hawks, and their connections to the greater DC Universe was too much of an opportunity to pass up. Shiera Hall is still a white redhead though.
> 
> In this universe, Andrew Mullein was the Hawks' cop friend when they were living in St. Roch. Think of him as their Commissioner Gordon. After he died, they grew disillusioned with St. Roch, so they eventually moved to Fawcett City with Maria to help Captain Marvel patrol it after she became a full time member of the JSA. The Hawks still do missions for the JSA when they are really needed, but they're now reserve members to give them more time to raise Maria.
> 
> Speaking of Captain Marvel, the villain of this story, Crocodile Man, is actually a villain of DC's Captain Marvel. Think of him as Captain Marvel's Killer Croc, except he's an alien apparently. His arm will grow back with time. His junk on the other hand... well, that's a lost cause (lol).
> 
> Since Shazam is supposed to be in his teens, I felt that the 90s weren't the best fit for him. And since he's more associated with Philadelphia these days, I gave his original city and some of his older villains to Marie Danvers, who is the original Captain Marvel in this universe.
> 
> Carol will have her own journey to become Captain Marvel, and I plan for that story to be tied to that of her girlfriend. After all, I did establish here that Maria Rambeau brings out the best in Carol. She'll probably begin as Ms. Marvel first before transitioning to Captain Marvel in adulthood. It's something for Kamala in the future.
> 
> In the more immediate future, I plan on doing two more stories with Green Lantern Maria Rambeau. The direct follow-up of this story and then a prequel about how Maria and Carol met. After that, I plan to do a one-shot involving a different character in modern times, probably Kamala Khan.
> 
> However, the purpose of these one-shot/short story formats is to give me as much flexibility as possible. So it's very likely I might switch up the order of release and do different stories if the mood strikes me.
> 
> I hope this new scheme works, and I really hope you all enjoyed this story. Give me some feedback, advice, and even suggestions for future stories. I'd appreciate any support you can give me.
> 
> Have a nice day.


End file.
